When it is said that God is accessible, then what is it that blocks us from the experience of bliss that He alone can give?
The reason is ‘ahankaram’, the feeling that you are the owner of yourself and your body. We always forget the fact that it is the limited and controlled freedom that we experience in this body as per the karma. We also forget that the sustenance of ourselves in this body is possible only because God supports both us (the self/soul) and the body.
Let’s see how Lord gives himself and becomes accessible to those who surrender to him with love. This can be seen from a couple of instances in history!
Bheemanna, a kommari (pot maker) made himself a deity of Lord Venkateswara with clay. Every day, he offered the Lord a flower made with clay before beginning his work and another one after ending his work. It was a token of love towards Lord by Bheemanna. On another hand, A king named ‘Thondaman’ who considered himself a ‘devotee’ proudly gave flowers made out of gold to the priest of Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. He was very arrogant of his offering and tried to show off that it was HIS flowers that are made out of gold and are being offered to Lord. However, he always noticed that the golden flowers were away from the Lord’s feet while the flowers made of clay are right next to the Lord’s feet. It is the devotion filled heart that Lord looks for. The pot maker never even visited the Thirumala temple, yet his flowers reached Lord’s feet. It is not the wealth that Lord looks for, it is the pure heart that is filled with only Love for Lord and the obedience in accepting the truth that you belong to Lord.
There is another beautiful instance that melts our hearts when we see the extent to which Lord comes down. Krushna is on his way to the kingdom of Mathura along with his brother Balarama. He seeks a set of new clothes from a garment designer. The designer refuses saying that whatever he makes is for the King, Kamsa and not for ordinary people like him. Krushna then snatches the set he likes, gives him a beating or two and walks ahead. He then felt like having a garland to decorate himself. He walks away from the way towards Kingdom and knocks on the door of a garland maker, a maalakaara. This person makes garlands to the King, but when Krushna knocks on the door and asks for a garland, he feels extremely elated and totally joyful. He gives away everything he had made that day and asks Krushna to take the garlands. Krushna waits to be in the company of such devotees.
The ‘ahankaram’ is a big blocker that stops God’s grace from reaching us.
His power and his capabilities are not in our scope of imagination. However, when he reaches out to devotees, we can understand the extent of his accessibility. How great it would be to experience such accessibility of that Supreme Lord. Our acharyas always say, Such supreme power who is accessible is the only right abode to seek for. Let us learn to let go of our ego and be ready to enjoy His grace!
– From the discourse of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami on Bhagavad Vishayam
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